


Trust Again

by connorssock



Series: Prompt Fills [14]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Apologies, Bullying, Emotional Whump, Gen, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-30
Updated: 2019-06-07
Packaged: 2020-03-29 22:00:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,572
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19028785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/connorssock/pseuds/connorssock
Summary: Anon asked: Maybe Gavin thinking about transferring to another precinct because he was hated at the DPD, and the others trying to convince him not to? Basically any Gavin!whump will do.





	1. Chapter 1

The assignment wasn’t meant to get so out of hand. It was meant to last maybe two weeks of Gavin playing a crooked cop accepting bribes so a drug gang could be busted. It was three weeks in though and had bubbled over until Gavin was at breaking point.

About a week into the assignment, a patrol car had rolled by and spotted him. Tina and Chris had caught him red handed, accepting an envelope from a wanted criminal. By the time Gavin had legged it back to the station, it was too late. Word had gotten round, nobody dared approach him but the atmosphere was icy. Wherever he went, people stopped talking, cast him side glances and turned away.

He begged Fowler to let him off the case. Or at least let him reveal enough details so the others knew he wasn’t really dirty. But it wasn’t allowed. Fowler, stood firm in that, told him it was only a week or so more and he needed to tough it out. So Gavin tried.

It wasn’t easy. Especially not when people he considered friends shouldered past him, knocking into him without an apology. At first, Gavin shrugged it off, the mantra of ‘only a week more’ was ingrained in his mind and he repeated it often. Even Nines was more gruff with him. Only spoke to him when a case absolutely required it, otherwise ignored him or shut down any attempt at communication with an abruptness he never possessed even as a machine before.

Watching from his desk, Gavin saw Hank go to Fowler. The aborted hand gestures towards him and the obvious way he was yelling left no doubt in Gavin’s mind. They were talking about him. Calm and stoic as ever, Fowler sent Hank packing and Gavin ducked behind his terminal when a dirty look was thrown his way.

That should have been warning enough. Along with being jostled around and shunned, there was an air of a threat that crawled along Gavin’s skin. He couldn’t place it but he had been a detective long enough to know that something was brewing.

A week later and the case was still nowhere close to wrapping up. Gavin was on the edge, jittery, glancing over his shoulder constantly. There were murmurs now, whispers which fell into silence as he walked past. Perhaps he was being paranoid but he always felt like someone was watching him. Occasionally he caught a flat glare sent his way but most of the time he didn’t know who was staring holes into his skull.

One evening he was just about ready to go home and fall into his bed. He didn’t expect to find Hank leaning against his locker, arms crossed over broad chest.

“You and I need to have a talk.”

Gavin tried to turn, walk out but Tina, Chris and Ben blocked the door. Connor and Nines appeared from the sides, effectively boxing him in.

“No need to be scared. This is just a little chat,” Hank’s voice was low and menacing to Gavin’s ear.

Like a lay cat, Hank pushed away from the locker and advanced towards him. It made Gavin’s breathing pick up, a glance around told him the others were tightening their net around him too.

“Look,” he put his hands up, palms facing Hank, “I don’t want any trouble.”

“I’m sure you don’t. You’ve got Fowler covering for your ass so either you’ve got some dirt on him or paid him off. Don’t worry though, we won’t give you trouble.” The words were saccharine sweetly mocking and Gavin tried to back away but a pair of hands shoved him forward hard. He stumbled and Hank’s grip on the back of his shirt was the only thing that kept him upright. The hold also meant the collar of his shirt dug into his neck. It wasn’t significant but all of a sudden, his breaths were coming short and sharp. When Hank let him go, he crashed to the ground and rolled onto his back.

The others loomed over him, glared down impassively with scowls. Hank was talking again but Gavin couldn’t hear him. Blood rushed in his ear, drowned everything out and each breath was a squeezed rasp. Blotches danced in his vision and a whine took up the place of the roaring blood. He couldn’t breath. Couldn’t move.

The crowd backed off as one and Gavin was suddenly alone until a figure crouched in front of him. A hand was laid on his ankle and he lashed out with a cry, desperate to get away from the touch. His mind raced with what could happen. He awaited the blows to rain down, a hand on his ankle again, dragging him against his will. Nothing came. No pain. No touch. Nothing.

Slowly, a voice filtered through his panic, his breaths were shuddering but filled his lungs more with each inhale. There was nobody in the room except Fowler who was kneeling a little distance away from him.

“I quit.” They were the first words out of Gavin’s mouth. “I’m done. Find someone else to do this. Transfer me back to New York or take my notice. I don’t care which.”

“Whoah! Whoah! Whoah!” Fowler’s hands flew up to placate him. “No need to be so rash. Let’s just calm down first.”

“No,” tear made Gavin’s voice thick, “I’m done. I asked for help. You ignored it. Now those who I’m meant to trust do this. I’m out. I’m done.”

“What?!” Hank’s voice was followed by him emerging from the door. “What’s going on?”

The secret was out so Fowler explained while Gavin caught his breath. Behind Hank, the others were crowded around, listening.

“You and I,” Hank looked sternly at Fowler, “are going to have words about this. Because that’s not how we work. Never alone and not like this.”

“And you and I,” Fowler retorted, “are going to have words about terrorising subordinates into a panic attack. Dirty or not, that’s not how we work.”

“Because you weren’t doing anything about it!”

The argument was brewing, the two looking to come to verbal blows until Gavin spoke up, “Can I leave?”

“I’ll escort you home.” Tina stepped forward and reached to take Gavin’s bag. However, he moved out of her reach.

“I can do it just fine.”

They watched him walk out. His badge and gun landed on the bench with a clatter.

“Fuck,” Connor said and a few people echoed his sentiment.

That evening, there was a knock on Gavin’s door. He wasn’t expecting anyone so ignored it but the knock came again. Then his phone vibrated, it was Nines.

“I’m outside your door. Please let me in.”

Sighing, Gavin opened the door but turned away as soon as the latch was loose. He ignored Nines standing there, didn’t say anything.

“I’m sorry,” Nines began.

“Save it.” His eyes were red and puffy, it was no secret he had been crying. On the table was a tablet, listings for apartments in New York open on the screen.

Carefully, Nines set the bag of food he’d brought down and linked his fingers in front of him.

“I don’t want you to go,” he began. The almost violent shrug he got in reply made him hesitate. “You’re the best partner I could have asked for.”

“Yeah, well, you’re not so....” Gavin looked at the door. Taking the hint, Nines left with a soft ‘sorry and goodnight’.

The next day Gavin’s desk was conspicuously empty. Hank and Fowler glowered at each other each time they crossed paths while everybody else cowered behind their workload. Even at lunchtime there wasn’t the usual buzz of a well-earned break. Instead, they huddled around a table and ate silently.

“We need to sort this out,” Chris sighed and the others nodded.

“I went to see Gavin last night, he was not very receptive,” there was no hope in Nines’ voice.

As a group, they agreed that they were going to have to try and make amends. Somehow. Anyhow. That night, Tina knocked on Gavin’s door and let herself in with the spare key. There was nobody home so she left Gavin’s favourite cake in his fridge and a note on his table to say she’d like to talk. Her phone never rang.

For four days, Gavin wasn’t home. Chris knocked, Ben visited, even Connor tried but his scans showed the apartment was empty. Each of them had left a little note under the door, an apology and the request to talk.

On the fifth day, Hank knocked on Gavin’s door and was surprised to hear the yell of “it’s open!” Stepping in, he saw the letters left by the others on the table, none of them had been opened. There were cardboard boxes strewn around and the apartment felt half empty already.

“Gavin?” he called out.

“Oh. It’s you.” Gavin stood in a doorway with a box under his arm. “What do you want?”

“I came to apologise.”

“Don’t bother,” Gavin turned and headed back into what Hank guessed to be the bedroom. “Close the door behind you.”

“Can’t we talk? Please?” Begging wasn’t beyond Hank in that moment. It wasn’t even the fact that Fowler had threatened to suspend him pending an inquiry if Gavin didn’t return to work that spurred him on.

“There’s nothing to say. I’m transferring back to New York. I’m going home. That’s what you wanted, wasn’t it?” The box fell to the floor heavily. “Let’s face it, nobody liked me here anyway. Well, nobody liked me back home either but at least over there they didn’t threaten me.”

“I’m sorry,” Hank’s voice broke.

Once again, Gavin shrugged, “Not my problem.”

A knock on the door interrupted them and Gavin went to open it. He balked when he saw Connor, along with Nines, Tina, Chris and Ben.

“What’s this? Come to finish the job in private?” he spat.

“Hank sat on his phone in the car. We’ve heard everything,” Connor offered. “And we wanted to ask if there’s anything we can do to change your mind?”

The temptation to yell at them all to get out was strong. Gavin steeled himself and shook his head. “I don’t think I can trust you again after all that.”

“We want to help rebuild the trust,” Nines piped up.

“Yeah? And what if I don’t?” The words were bitter on his tongue and Gavin bit down on his lip to hold back. It was hitting him all over again. The loneliness, the fear, the panic. It was all flooding back and he turned to march resolutely into his bedroom to hide until he was alone again. Unfortunately, the others had a different idea. On silent feet, they  followed him, Nines crouched next to him and laid a gentle hand on his shoulder.

That was all it took. Gavin choked back on a sob as he tried to figure out why nowhere he went could accept him. He’d left New York because they refused to make him a detective. Said he wasn’t a good fit for the role. However, Detroit had taken him, given him the chance. But again, his colleagues rejected him.

Arms curled around him as he was pulled into a hug against a solid chest. Another pair of hands rested on his shoulder and someone was talking. He couldn’t hear them though, too caught up in his misery. It was only Nines’ low voice which filtered through “give us a chance to prove ourselves. Please.”

Too tired to argue, Gavin nodded. It wasn’t like New York was going to be any better in reality. At least here, even if things didn’t change, he knew what he would be up against.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A prompt over on tumblr said this:I don't know if you do follow up prompts, but if you do could we see more of the aftermath of Trust Again please? It's one of the most painful DBH fics I've read, and I'd love to see the others dealing more with the repercussions/consequences of what they did as they try to fix what they've broken with Gavin.

Gavin wasn’t sure whether he was insulted or relieved that his request to transfer to New York had not been processed. On one hand he was at an utter loss as to what to do, he didn’t really want to go back there but at the same time, staying in Detroit felt too raw. On the other hand, Fowler had willingly ignored his request yet again. It didn’t sit well with Gavin, he felt trapped and alienated beyond the usual.

After he returned to work, tail between his legs and unwilling to meet anyone’s eyes, there was a marked change to the precinct. Suddenly, people were vying to be best buddies with him. Saccharine sweet enthusiasm soured each greeting and both Tina and Chris were falling over themselves to prove they were still friends. The only problem was, Gavin didn’t know whether he wanted to be friends anymore. Friends didn’t turn on each other at the murmurs of rumours. They didn’t trap each other in the locker room in an attempt to bring the justice they saw fit on unsuspecting victims.

Partners didn’t do that either in theory. But Nines had. He’d been on Hank’s left hand side, looming over Gavin with palpable disappointment. Now, on cases he was deferential to everything Gavin said. Even went out of his way to drive them to Gavin’ favourite cafe when they were sent out on cases. He didn’t seem to understand that Gavin didn’t want to be given special treatment. That was something he’d already experienced in one direction, he had no desire for either positive or negative attention. All Gavin wanted to was return to how things used to be before the stupid assignment.

“Hey Gavin,” Ben waved at him in the breakroom. “I was experimenting with something last night, made a carrot cake, that’s your favourite, right?”

Gavin plastered a smile on his face as he nodded and took a slice. They were trying and trying really hard too. It didn’t matter that he loathed carrot cake. It didn’t matter they didn’t remember that. Ben had tried and Gavin couldn’t face the prospect of being an asshole and rejecting his attempt at being friendly. Even when it wasn’t needed or wanted. It certainly beat the other extreme.

Each evening, Gavin toyed with the idea of forcing through his request for a transfer. He hadn’t even bothered unpacking the boxes he’d hastily piled his things into those frantic evenings. At least he’d phoned the estate agent in New York and said he wasn’t going to take the flat he’d seen after all.

No apology was enough to wipe the hurt and fear from his mind. Hank’s hangdog expression as he stumbled through a heartfelt and somewhat rehearsed speech about being wrong and how he’d failed as a superior fell a little flat. Once upon a time, Gavin would have revelled in having Hank in such a position, having power over him. Now, it felt hollow and left Gavin with only a bitter taste in his mouth. Apologies weren’t enough. They didn’t magically rebuild trust. Neither did cake or coffee or forced friendliness towards him. The fake smiles and over done enthusiasm made Gavin recoil more than anything else.

Slowly, the attempts faded. Gavin could breathe easier in the bullpen when it didn’t feel like everybody was looking at him, trying to figure out his next step and how they could prostrate themselves in order to make his life easier. It was a relief, in a way. Gavin could try to get on with his life as he wanted. A little less brash, certainly a lot quieter but the routine of police work didn’t change and he still knew how to follow procedure even when he no longer knew what to do outside of protocol.

It seemed that Nines had dialled back on the subservient shtick too. The visits to the cafe lessened, he was less likely to pick up and file reports that Gavin usually complained about and slowly the sarcastic comments filtered back into their interactions. The first time he told Gavin to “belt up” he looked so ashamed and apologetic, Gavin lost all the will to even snort in amusement.

People didn’t seem to think that Gavin noticed all those small things. They acted as though that had been the way things had always been. Like Gavin had been the office favourite who everyone adored. It made Gavin a little sick if he was honest. He knew well enough that he was an abrasive ass half the time. Most people tolerated him, heck, even Nines took a few months to warm up to him beyond cordial formalities.

Perhaps the most indifferent person in the whole thing had been Fowler. He apologised once, took Gavin off the case then got on with things as if nothing had happened. In a way, it was a relief because Gavin didn’t want to be singled out by his boss for preferential treatment. Yet it still stung that Fowler, the one who had been the cause of all his misery could brush the incident off so easily. Logically, Gavin knew that Fowler couldn’t be seen as weak. It wasn’t how leadership worked. But it would have been nice to feel a little more appreciated and protected.

In a way, it helped that Hank seemed to know what was going on. As a result, he was butting heads with Fowler a lot more, angry meetings he either stormed out of or left behind a furious Fowler in his office. That helped Gavin the most. Because he knew that while not all of the arguments were about him, it at least meant that Hank was trying to be certain that such a thing didn’t happen again.

“Could I offer you a lift home?” Nines asked Gavin out of the blue one day. The morning had started out as sunny but by the afternoon, a cold chill had settled and Gavin was regretting choosing to walk in with just a light jacket.

Tentatively, he nodded and allowed Nines to walk him out at the end of their shift. The ride home was quiet, Gavin had nothing left to say. Truth be told, he didn’t speak much at work anymore. While before the incident he was more likely to insult someone than offer them a friendly word. But everyone had grown used to the fact that that was just how he was.

At his home, he got out with a mumbled “thanks”. He was half tempted to invite Nines in but at the same time, he couldn’t quite forgive him yet. What Gavin couldn’t decide was whether he was punishing Nines or genuinely hadn’t put the events past him just yet. In the end, he closed the car door with a sad half smile and went inside. Maybe next time he’d feel more generous.

From then on, Nines offered him lifts more often. Some days Gavin accepted, other days he pointblank refused. Even when it was pouring it down and he got home looking like a drowned rat. On those days, a delivery driver tended to turn up at his door with some warm takeaway that eased the chill settled in his bones.

“The Sergeant test is coming up, I want to put you forward for it,” Fowler announced as soon as Gavin answered his summons to his office.

“Sure, whatever you think is best.” Gavin shrugged it off. Before, he’d asked about taking the test and had always been all but laughed out of the office.

“It doesn’t matter what I think,” the rebuttal stung more than Gavin had anticipated. So Fowler still didn’t think much of him and it was purely a way to keep Gavin in line. Something bubbled over in Gavin.

“Fuck it. I will do it and then you’re going to accept my request to transfer. I don’t care where. Buttfucknowhere in Alaska is better than here at this rate.”

Unfortunately, Gavin didn’t realise the door had been left open. It definitely wasn’t by chance that Hank stuck his head through the door and glared at Fowler.

“The fuck you messed up now?” he growled.

“None of your damn business,” Fowler snapped back. The way Hank stood next to Gavin, pulled to his full height and arms crossed over his chest made for a foreboding image.

“Like hell it isn’t. I don’t know what’s happened to you recently Jeffrey but you’ve sorely fallen by the wayside.”

“If you think you can do a better job,” Fowler’s voice was low and threatening, “then how come you aren’t the one sitting in this chair?”

“You were a great leader while things were on edge. You’re a war room captain but a shit leader in peace. It’s why I’ve recommended you be promoted.”

There was a glint in Hank’s eyes and Gavin marvelled at his deviousness. With Fowler promoted out of the precinct, it left the captain’s role empty. It wasn’t common knowledge that Hank had already done the exam for the role some 10 years back but never found the incentive to reach for the promotion. But now, there was reason. He turned to Gavin.

“You’d make a great sergeant,” he clapped Gavin on the shoulder. “Take the test then come see me for a chat before pushing for that transfer.”

Gavin could only nod as he was amicably ushered out of the office. He didn’t even realise he’d been summarily dismissed until the door closed behind him and yelling started up.

Back at his desk, Nines smiled up at him and for the first time in a while, Gavin was tempted to return it, unforced and heartfelt.

**Author's Note:**

> Also posted on tumblr as @connorssock


End file.
